Method of manufacturing gas.



No. 882,908. PATENTBD MAR. 24, 1908. H. M. PIERSON. METHOD 0P MANUFACTURING- GAS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1907.

chemical substances the retrom,

,coal enriches the gas, heating up HENRY M. PIERSON, .OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 24. 1908.

Application filed April 22; 1907. Serial No. 369,467.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HENRY M lrnnson, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in the Method of M anulac turing Gas, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to a method of manufacturing non luminous water gas and fuel or producer gas, by which the economical and rapid production of these gases is made possible and by whichat the same time a fuel is produced that is available. in their manufac., 'ture.

My improved method consists generically in forcing air into and heating a body of fuel and making therein p roducor gas, passing the heated producer gas through a body of bituminous coal and tlmrcln' extracting the enriching the gas, and distillingthe bituminous coal and so producing of the bituminous coal a fuel coke, conveying away the gases so formed and on riched andprogrcssivolr delivering the coke onto the said body of fuel to replenish the san'ieand progrossiroly adding new bodies oi bituminous coal to be progressively acted upon for the production of the said gases and the coke.

, In the further carrying out ol my improved method, the fuel or prrjnlucer g as is made in the blowing up of the bod y oi' l'uol in a suit able generator and the passing 0! the producer gas through the body of bituminous and distilling the bituminous cool; air under pressure being employed and forced into the said bod) of fuel, but no air is introduced into the apparatus to C()ll1li1lll1l(' with the producer Whe-r'e it is desired to make only luv] or roducergas, a small quantity ol' steam may 0 advantageously intrmlured with the air beneath the generator gralw-bars in the mamll'acturo ol' the .lucl or producer gas which passes away from the generator in its hot condition for any desired and immediateuse in the arts-where it is employed in connection with furnaces [or iiiating or melting metal, but where the producer and water gases are made successively the steam must not be used with the air as it will loner the tem ieraturc of the fuel too much.

The production of the water or non-luminous 9113 is a substantial continmition of the method of forming the producer or fuel gas, as after the generator has been blown up to incandescence the air is introduced which )assing through the body of incandescent luel lowers the temperature thereof the steam bein r resolved into its component aarts and ta ring up from the body of fuel and tho biturninouscoal the necessary elements for the production of water or non-luminous gas. This non-luminous gas is conveyed away from the generator and is caused to pass through well known apparatus in this art, such-as a washer and a scrubber so as to prepare the same fully for its work, and from these devices it is convoyed to a holder where the gas is both cooled and allowed to become cold, because the water or non-luminous gas is better in a cold state and in such state is used for gas engines.

in the drawing 1. have illustrated b tical section an apparatus capable oi carryinc out the process herein described. in this thawing, o represents the shellof a gen.- erator of suitable dimensions, a the lining thereof, b the grate-bars, b an air inlet, 1:: a steam inlet, and this generator is 'prelerably provided witlnstol e-holes d d havin removable covers. in connection with t iis genis shut 0H and steam orator I employ a vert cally positioned tapering retort in which c are the metal shell portions supported upon eye-beams f which in turn are supported upon beams laid at right angles thereto. The retort is composed of several "milar tapering chambers h advantageously made oi refractory material with flange. 2 F3 and l at their upper ends and said rotor; chambers are supported. from the shell parts by rings 5 6 and 7 which com between the parts of the shell e e" and between the ion er shell and the upper shell of the-generator which part are supported on the eye-beams 7. Above these retort chambers l prmidv a hopper preferably supporli-d abore from a beam 8 and the lower portion of the hopper is made as a dru i mlaining a revoluble feeder It of blades. 'lhe upper member of the rotor is rorided with a )i re L harm"! a branch l."

the pipe l and branch Z 23, valve in.

In tlr- )PulfltlOIlOf this device the production -f non-luminous Water and producer gm, the generator almvor'the ratebars is .lillwl with fuel or with thel and coke being provided with .up to the mouth at the lower find of the re- .products of combustion are converted into producer gas which ascends through the re maining ortion of the fuel before escaping. The pro ucer gas from this bed of fuel passes directly and unmixed wit air---up ,through the coke in the retort thereby heating and distilling the same and extracting the chemical Substances therefrom. The producer gas thus formed passes off in a hot state through the pi e or throat Z and past the valve m which as been raised to the lace at which the same is burned for heat-- in r furnaces for treating or melting metal, or ot er uses in the arts. During the process of making this producer gas, a little steam is advantageously introduced by the pipe below the grate-bars, that is, a small quantity. This isnot so much a necessity for making the producer-gas as to keep down the temeratifre and prolong the operation of making the producer'gas. After the fuel has been'brought to the right point of heat and ineandesc'ence, and in the prolongation of the process forthe formation of non-luminous water gas, the air is entirely shut oil and steam is introduced under pressure, passing throu h the body of fuel, bein decomposed there iy and passing up throng i the coke in the lower ortion of the retort and thebituminous coal in the upper part of the retort forming nonluminous watergas, the valve m meanwhile havin .been closed to the producer gas outit; he water or non-luminous gas then passes b the branch pipe or throat Z and is preferab y treated and its temperature redueed by passing through a washer and scrubber into a holder or gasometer where it is stored for future use to be mixed with air in'suitable proportions as an explosivemixture for driving engines or other machines.

It is well known in this art that 'bitu- Ininous coal when partially coked and ex' panded by heat becomes packed andcaked, and is difficult to break up. I provide for this condition by employing a retort chamber much larger at the lower than at the upper end and in which the coal progressive y me was down by' gravity and the working of said capansive force, the very action of which is to break up and turn even the particles as they descend.

While lhave shown in the drawing, an aparatus suitable for carrying out this method,

prefer to employ this apparatus in pairs so that the supply of producer or fuel gas may be continuous and alsothe supply of water or -nonluminous gas eontinuous, because while the. one generator making producer gas the other which hasni'ade the pri'idueer as is at the same time making water or nonuminous gas, and vice versayit being'a fact that upon the completion'of making the wa ter or non-luminous gas the fuel in the generator is raked down and the coke in the retort allowed to be discharged therefrom into the generator as fuel for the further opera tions of the generator and a fresh charge of bituminous coal is introduced into the top of the retort from the hopper 2' through the revoluhle feeder la. y

While I have hereinbel'ore described a single apparatus with reference to the alternate" roduction of producer and water or non-- urnmous gas, I prefer for the economical prc- 'duction of these gases continuously, to rovide a duplication of the apparatus -1 instrated, so that the same may be coupled up in their gas pipes and run alternately for the continuous production of the respective gases, the one of whichis a continuation of the method of producing the other.

In the method hereinhefore described by me, and because the generator and the retort opening therefrom and forming a continuation thereof produce an elongated lire chamber oilhot fuel the steam u-ndecom osed in the fire and heat of the generator is ully decomposed in the upper chambered end of the generator and in the heat of the retort, and considerable carbonic acid which. in the manufacture o'fgas does escape in a shallow fire, is in my apparatus and worms reconverted into (L0. by the extra element of oxygen of the .0. taking up an element of -.a-rhon in the retort and forming an additional volume of thus doubling the volume of this gas made'andgreatly increasing the heat units of the same.

1 claim as my invention:

1. The method herein described of mann facturing gas, the same consisting in forcing air into and heating a body of "fuel and making therein producer gas, passing the producer gas on and directly through a body of bituminous coal superimposed upon the body gases so produced away for immediate use in the arts.

u 2. The method herein .ilesoribed of manufacturing gas, the same consisting in forcing air into and heating a bon of fuel and makingtherein producer gas, passing the producer gas on and directly through abodyof bituminous coal superiinposedupon the body of fuel and thereby extracting the chemical substances therefrom and distilling the bituof fuel and forming an uninterrupted con- 7 tinuation thereof and thereby extracting the chemical substances therefrom and distilling the bituminous coal and conveying the hpt eeaeos 3. ing up the gas discharge in a different direction and then forcing steam through the bed of incandescent fuel and body of coke and bituminous coal and resolving the same into its component parts for the production of water or non-luminous ,gas and conveying the same away and storing it for future use.

3. The method herein described of manufacturing gas, the same consisting in forcing air into and heating a body of fuel and makducer gas on and directly through a body of bituminous coal superimposed upon the body of fuel and thereby extracting the chemical substances therefrom and distilling the bituminous coal and conveying the hot gases so produced away for immediate use in the arts, closing off the sup ly of air beneath the bed of fuel and the discllarge of the gas and opening up the gas discharge in a d1fferent'd1rec I tion and then forcing steam through the bed of incandescent fuel and body of bituminous coal and resolving the same into its-component parts for the production of water or non-- luminous gas and conveying the same away 3C and storing it for future use and so producing a fuel coke from the bituminous coal, pro-' gressively delivering the coke so formed onto the body of the fuel to replenish the same and progressivelv repeating the operations'of the manufacture of gas.

4. The method herein described of manufacturing gas, the same consistin in forcing air into and heating a body of fue and making therein producer gas, passing the pro- 44 ducer gas on and directly through a body of bituminous coal superimposed upon the body of fuel and thereby extracting the chemical substances therefrom and distilling the bituminous coal and conveying the hot gases so produced away for immediate use in the arts, progressively delivering the distilled bitumi nous coal as coke upon the body of fuel to relenish the same as the ashes of the body of uel are removed and progressively replenishing the body of bituminous coal.

5. The method herein described of 1nanufactoring gas, the same consisting in forcing air into and heating a body of fuel and mak- I Y ing therein producer gas, passing the producer 15 mg therem producer gas, passing the proas on and directly through and heating a ody of bituminous coal'su'periinposed upon. 7

of incandescent fue and through the bed. of

heated bituminous coal and fully decomposing the same, re-converting the carbonic acid (l0. into carbonic oxid CO. by the extra element of oxygenof the (7.9. combining with or taking up an elementof carbon in the heated body of bituminous coal, all for the production of water or non-luminous gas and conveying the same away and storing it for future use. I

Signed by me this 5th day of April 1907.

H. M. PIERSOI" I Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, E.'ZACHARIASEN( 

